Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, experts—not like what you were using—to ensure future myGov improvements put the customer first. This follows on from another major announcement on Monday this week to immediately provide a $228 million funding injection to recruit 3,000 ongoing frontline and service delivery staff at Services Australia this financial year. This investment means 3,000 new recruits will join the agency in roles targeted at improving Centrelink and Medicare services.

Liberal-National governments decimated frontline services by ripping thousands of staff out of Services Australia, leading to increased call times and processing delays. The Albanese government will not sit on its hands and let things get worse. These 3,000 new staff will be critical to reducing call waiting times, speeding up claim payments and giving back to Australians some time in their busy lives. Importantly, these extra resources are in addition to the 850 emergency response staff already provided for in the current budget, who have already been called on to support the Queensland bushfire response. The former Liberal-National government oversaw an unconstrained and out of control— (Time expired)